


Prom Season

by icyshark



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Beth's full name is Bethany and I will fight anyone who argues with me, High School, I'm not sure how long i wanna make this so stay tuned, Multi, Mutual Pining, Mutually Unrequited, Prequel, Prom, Sweet summer children who have no idea what winter will bring, Teenage Drama, most of these pairings are vague/implied, seeing as this is a prequel and all, that reminds me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-08-20 14:36:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8252714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icyshark/pseuds/icyshark
Summary: Sam briefly had the ridiculous fear that he might ask her to go to prom with him before she remembered that he didn't even go to high school with them anymore. They stood there silently for a terrible ten seconds before he broke out of whatever fugue he was in.
“Cool. Well. Anyway, I’ll let you go get some sleep,” he said, back into his calm, cool persona. “Nighty night, Sammy.”
Sam smiled. “Night, Josh.”
The night was clear and cool on her skin. She couldn’t let prom fever get to her too. All she needed to focus on was making it out of high school alive.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> "Hey icy, should you really be starting a new fic when you have three unfinished ones, one of which you haven't updated since December of last year?"
> 
> No. No, I should not, and yet here we are. Enjoy, folks.

It was prom season, but Sam usually referred to it as “the month of hormone and immature emotion-addled hell that gets in the way of way too many regular activities and makes everyone lose their minds for no goddamn reason.” If it wasn’t obvious, Sam wasn’t a huge fan. She’d end up spending a bunch of money going to something she didn’t want to go to in the first place, wearing a tight dress and uncomfortable shoes, and getting stuffed into a sweaty, poorly decorated ballroom to watch four hundred of their closest casual acquaintances awkwardly grind their teenaged bodies together to dance music from two years ago. Yeah. Officially: Not Great.

Still, Sam would be spending the night with her best friends, Hannah specifically, so it wouldn't be too bad. Plus, she had a few weeks to prepare, so it might even end up being fun. She punched in the code and pulled into the driveway of her friend’s almost-mansion, sighing like she did every time she saw their ridiculous house.

Being friends with the Washingtons was like being friends with the fucking Kardashians. Or royalty. Or something.

It definitely didn’t make a difference for a lot of their friends. Jessica, Matt, and Emily also had parents that were disgustingly rich, so the exorbitant decor of the Washingtons’ massive house was old hat to those three. Chris and Ashley were from slightly humbler roots, but they were definitely still upper middle class at least. Only Sam and Mike were from working class backgrounds, and though Mike made a real effort to hide it, Sam did not even try to mask her disbelief every time she swung open the French doors that opened into their goddamn foyer. So she was obvious, yeah, but never outright rude, especially when Mr. and Mrs. Washington were around.

The light seemed different that night. Sam looked for the source and- oh my god.

“Samantha! I didn't know we were expecting you,” Melinda interrupted her thoughts, greeting her with a smile and sweeping Sam into a swift but firm embrace. The chunky necklace around her neck dug into Sam’s chest.

“Yeah, Hannah texted me like half an hour ago, so I figured she didn’t bother to ask,” Sam said, shaking her head fondly. Hannah was too predictable.

Melinda smiled and rolled her eyes. “That’s our Hannah. Well, you know you’re always welcome in our home.”

Sam smiled, and she only forced it like seventy-percent. “Thanks, Melinda. By the way, is that a new chandelier? It’s gorgeous.” She tried to suppress the sardonic laughter sitting in her chest.

“Oh, you are too sweet, thank you,” Melinda clucked, resting her hand on her chest and gazing up at the new crystalline monstrosity dangling from their vaulted ceilings. It wasn’t that ugly, really, it was just a little. . . much. Beth hated their home’s decorating scheme just as much as Sam did, and since she was actually Melinda’s kid, she made it known. Honestly, at this point, Sam only complimented her and talked about this shit with Melinda at all just because it was kinda funny.

Josh rolled around the wall separating the wide open space of the foyer from the stairs to the basement, the catlike smile on his face a tell-tale sign of his eavesdropping.

“Alright, I’ll let you go honey,” Melinda said with a wave, already buzzing with energy. “You girls better do at least a little bit of homework tonight,” she scolded lightly, mock-wagging her finger.

Sam fought the urge to roll her eyes. “We will,” she promised, letting Melinda carry on with whatever it was that she was doing.

She didn’t dislike Melinda, or Bob for that matter, at all. The opposite, really. Mostly. While she was a little flighty at times, Melinda was funny and charming, and she very obviously loved her kids, which meant Sam liked her. Bob was a different story, but he was off filming his next horror blockbuster hit in Washington state, so she didn’t have to tiptoe around his erratic attitude.

Instead of heading up the stairs to Hannah’s room, Sam took a detour and stalked over to lightly punch Josh in the arm.

“Howdy, sheriff,” she greeted with a smile, folding into his outstretched arms reflexively. Josh hugs were the best hugs.

“‘Howdy’ yourself, deputy,” he said with a grunt, scooping her up under her armpits and swinging her in his arms. “Whatcha doing here? Isn’t it like, eight o’clock? On a school night?”

Sam sighed as he set her down. “Yeah. Han said it was an emergency. I’m just hoping it’s about the econ paper and not ‘MM’ related,” she grumbled, wiggling her eyebrows at the mention of Mike’s initials.

Josh rolled his eyes, but his sigh was all concern. “Me too.” He shifted on his feet, restless.

“You okay?” Sam asked, raising her eyebrows lightly.

His eyes darted to the basement door, obviously ready to abscond back into the darkness of his massive bedroom. She suppressed a sigh and tried to construct a neutral expression.

She wanted to kick him. Yeah, his first year of college didn’t go that great, but he was home now and he was supposed to be decompressing and chilling out. And here he was, wearing his favorite threadbare “I’m-in-emotional-crisis” tee and looking like a deer in headlights.

“Nah, I’m good,” he said unconvincingly, still avoiding her eyes. Sam wished he would stop fucking deflecting all the time, but it’s not like she could force him to talk, and trying to would be way too draining.

Sam leaned her forehead onto his broad chest wordlessly for as long as she dared, then pulled away.

“Okay, well, text me if you need anything. I’m just upstairs,” she said over her shoulder. She didn’t want to look at him.

“Thanks Sammy,” he said softly, waving weakly before slinking back down the stairs.

Sam groaned internally on her trek up the Washingtons’ ridiculous staircase (with red fucking carpet like are you _kidding_ me). Great. Already she wasn’t all that excited to deal with whatever “crisis” Hannah was having, and now she had to carry her worry for Josh with her into this situation.

Make no mistake: Sam loved Hannah, more like her own sister than just a friend, but sometimes the girl could be a little self-absorbed. Even though she and Beth were twins, Hannah was still technically the middle child, and when you're living in a household with two huge personalities like Josh and Beth, it was easy to get a little buried under it all. So yeah, Hannah didn’t really think about other people’s problems all that often, or whether or not Sam was okay enough to physically drive all the way to the Washington house and help her with her issues.

And it was fine. No, really, it was. Their group of friends was never really all that charitable to Hannah, and Sam could never understand why. Hannah was smart, creative, and so, so sensitive. She could get caught up in her own mess a lot, sure, but when you needed her, she was there. She was thoughtful and patient and a great listener, so if Sam had to sacrifice a few nights and suffer a little for Hannah’s sake, that seemed like a fair trade. She reminded herself of that as she reached the final step, peering through the crack in Beth’s door.

Beth was sitting in the middle of the floor, papers scattered everywhere and her short hair in a tiny ponytail. Maybe it was weird, but Sam loved to watch Beth when she was in the zone. Beth didn’t really work well with other people around, so when her school stuff was really important, she’d scuttle off to do it somewhere more private. Catching her on her own was like spying a wild animal in its natural habitat.

The thin voice of some indie band singer was tinny and soft in the background. Just as Sam was straining to hear who it was, Hannah’s door flung open across the hall and Sam leapt away from Beth’s room.

“Ugh, finally!” Hannah cried, grabbing Sam by the wrist and dragging her inside. “So much stuff is going on.”

Sam smiled weakly. “With the econ paper?”

“No, with Mike, of course,” Hannah groaned, falling back onto her bed and covering her eyes with her hands.

“Hannah,” Sam said gently, sitting next to her on the bed.

“I know, I know,” her friend sighed, sounding a little teary. “I’m so stupid.”

“Hannah, stop that,” Sam said, patting her knee. “You’re not stupid. You can’t help how you feel.”

Hannah rolled over and tucked her knees into her chest. The breath from her nose tickled at the hair on Sam’s arm.

“I’ve been refreshing my Instagram feed for like a full hour,” she said, voice somewhat muffled by the duvet and Sam’s arm. “I’m freaking obsessed.”

“With?” Sam prompted.

“How Mike is going to ask Emily to prom,” she finished pathetically. “I know he's going to go all out and I know she’s going to post something about it immediately after it happens.”

Sam pet Hannah’s hair. “Oh, Han.”

Hannah groaned and shoved her face into her blankets.”What do I do?”

Sam glanced around the room, still petting Hannah’s hair absently. Dark purples, blues, and greens filled the space, covered (of course) in butterflies. Butterfly decals on the walls, little hanging paper butterflies, butterfly stickers on the windows. . . the girl was in love with butterflies. They fed her urge to fly away, probably. Sam could see the appeal. To be so light and free and pretty seemed good to her.

“I know it’s hard, but you gotta stop thinking about it like this. All it’s gonna do is drive you nuts.”

“Yeah, see, that’s the thing: I can’t,” Hannah said, sitting up. “I don’t know what to do.”

Sam shrugged. “Write your econ paper? It’s due on Monday and the practice tests go out Wednesday.”

“How am I supposed to focus on macroeconomics with all this other stuff going on?” Hannah sighed, falling onto her back once again.

What the hell? “Dude, is that seriously all you have on your mind? The Mike and Emily thing?”

Hannah hesitated. Aha!

“Josh isn’t doing too good right now,” she admitted somewhat guiltily. “I’m worried.”

Did Sam call that or did she call that? Josh was so guarded, but he wore his heart on his sleeve and everyone knew it. It was too easy to tell when he was down and when he was up, and he was certainly acting weird downstairs.

Sam took it seriously. “What do you think is going on?”

Hannah shook her head. “I’m not sure. I thought he was getting better. We all did.”

Sam’s lips drew into a grim line. She was remembering all the outbursts, all the crying and yelling and vicious comments Josh had hurled at them over the years. He hid that side of himself remarkably well at school, but everyone who knew him closely knew that he was suffering from something ugly.

That didn't make him ugly though. Each time he snapped, Sam didn’t judge him. All it meant was that she knew a little more about him now, and that that’s okay. It was scary sometimes, yeah, but Sam was never afraid of him, just _for_ him. Her world shook when Beth tearfully confessed to her about Josh’s suicide attempt in middle school, and the possibility of losing him forever had been a harsh reality ever since.

“Is he still seeing Dr. North?” Sam asked, holding herself. If she didn’t, she worried that she might fall apart.

Hannah nodded. “He doesn’t like her though.”

Well, shit. In Josh speak, that translated roughly into: _I don’t trust her and I don’t give her all the information I should, and therefore won’t get better under her care_.

Sam met Hannah in sixth grade after a bitter feud in a three-week, pre-book fair reading competition. They didn’t know each other past being “the other smart girl in class,” but when Sam took the lead in the second week, things got personal. Faculty got involved, it was a huge mess, but they ended up apologizing to each other both at the prompting of their school counselor and after someone else entirely unrelated won the contest. They were inseparable ever since.

Josh was a year older, so naturally there were two reactions from his sisters and their friends: reverence or hostility. Hannah revered him, Beth thought he was an idiot, and somehow Sam fell somewhere in between, but they all loved him to bits in their own ways.

It wouldn’t fix things, sure, but. . .

“Let’s go get him,” Sam suggested, standing up. “We can grab Beth too, make a night of it.”

Hannah was skeptical. “She’s gonna be pissed if we interrupt her and she’s not completely finished.”

Sam offered her hand. “Not if it’s about Josh. Come on,” she said, hoisting Hannah off her bed and onto her feet. “She could probably use a break anyway.”

Beth was, predictably, a little bit prickly, but her expression changed completely when Hannah brought up Josh. She turned off her record player, hugged Sam, then followed them down the stairs to “bother” Josh.

The TV was on, but nothing was playing. Josh was lying on the sofa set up in his studio-apartment-esque basement room, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the white wall at the other side of the room. It was the first thing he started decorating when his parents let him move into the basement after he first attempted, and it was Sam’s favorite part of his bedroom. The entire wall was covered corner to corner in tiny illustrations, cartoons and designs and patterns and some of the more amazing artwork Sam had ever seen. Josh was so creative; it was one of the things she loved about him.

When they flicked on the lights, Josh sat up faster than Sam had ever seen, and it was so abrupt she almost laughed. Beth and Hannah didn’t flinch.

“Hey Josh,” Beth said casually, floating around the edge of the sofa. “Wanna hang out?”

Josh looked bewildered, like a sailor being cornered by some vicious mermaids. “Uh, what are you guys doing down here? Don’t you have, like, homework and stuff?”

Sam shrugged. “We’re taking a break. Are you saying you don’t want to watch Drive with us? The visually sumptuous, cinematographic masterpiece starring the very handsome Ryan Gosling?”

“I don’t know why you think Goose Man’s impressive physique is gonna make me make room for you three on this couch,” Josh said, shaking his head and sweeping his legs off the seats just as the girls descended on them. “But I’m not going to say no to directorial mastery.”

Josh was obviously upset, but he looked at the three of them with softness, so at least he wasn’t angry.

As Hannah and Beth set up the PlayStation and got the disc, Sam sat next to Josh. Right away, he wrapped his arm around and her pulled her in close, resting his cheek on her head. Sam snuggled in.

“Thanks Sammy,” he whispered into her hair. He gave her one last quick squeeze before releasing her, and they shared a little look before the twins sat back down.

They’d always been affectionate, but lately things were more and more. . . borderline. Honestly? Sam was thankful that he’d been a few hours away for the majority of the year, because she had no fucking idea what it was that she was feeling for him lately. Whatever it was, she was desperate to hide it from the twins.

Down there in the dark, the four of them crammed together and watching Ryan Gosling stomp some dude’s head in on an elevator, it was easy to pretend that everything was simple and normal. It was like when they were kids, sneaking down to the basement back when it was a game room and playing Mario Kart until Bob came down and yelled at them to go to bed.

Maybe that’s what was nice about the Washington house: it held some of Sam’s most precious memories of childhood. She grew up right along with Hannah, Beth, and Josh in that house. It was her home too.

All the tension from earlier in the night rolled away. So what if it was prom, so what if Hannah needed to get over Mike, and so what that it was almost the end of high school and Sam was freaking out. None of that meant anything with the four of them with each other like that. Complicated feelings got hung by the door.

The movie ended and Sam said goodnight to Josh, plonking back up the two flights of stairs to continue talking to Hannah about all matters Mike Munroe.

At the end of the night, Emily didn’t end up posting anything and their papers were finished, or at least finished enough that they could successfully half-ass it in the morning. Hannah offered to have Sam stay, but she said no. She just wanted to go home and snuggle up in her bed with her German shepherd Todd and just go to sleep.

Josh caught her just as she was sneaking out the door.

“Sammy!” he mock-whispered, catching up to her on socked feet. He looked like a dork in his pajama pants.

“What? I wanna go home, it’s like one in the morning,” she said tiredly, dramatically leaning over for effect.

Josh laughed quietly. “Yeah, I know. Just wanted to say bye.” He opened his arms and she fell into them again rolling her eyes.

“Jeez, what’s with you tonight?” Sam teased, patting him lightly. He stiffened under her touch. Well, shit. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

Josh shook his head. “Just thanks for spending time with me tonight. I know you guys have stuff to do, and-”

“Ugh, no, it was a nice break,” Sam said truthfully, stepping away from him. “I’m really tired of talking about prom, so. . .”

Josh nodded, and things suddenly became awkward. What the hell was _this_ about? Sam briefly had the ridiculous fear that he might ask her to go to prom with him before she remembered that he didn't even go to high school with them anymore. They stood there silently for a terrible ten seconds before he broke out of whatever fugue he was in.

“Cool. Well. Anyway, I’ll let you go get some sleep,” he said, back into his calm, cool persona. “Nighty night, Sammy.”

Sam smiled. “Night, Josh.”

The night was clear and cool on her skin. She couldn’t let prom fever get to her too. All she needed to focus on was making it out of high school alive.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls go shopping and Sam and the Washington kids have a sleepover, just like old times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awful, fluffy garbage, just like me. I should have at least one happy UD fic, right? Please leave kudos and comments if you like it!

“Why are we doing this again?” Sam asked, wiping the sweat from her hairline and adjusting her bag on her shoulder. As summer inched ever nearer, that unbearable L.A. heat was really starting to make itself known. Today was _not_ a shopping day for Sam, but the part of her that wanted to go and hang out with the girls forced her out of the house and away from the chapters she needed to read for English class. The book was stowed in her bag anyway, just in case she had a spare moment. “None of us have even been asked yet.”

  
Emily scoffed. “Yeah, _yet_ , but I’m not just gonna sit on my ass waiting around. I know Michael is going to ask me.” She flicked her hair. Sam glanced at Hannah, but her friend was staring at something in the distance, probably forcing herself not to hear. “Plus, it’ll be so much easier to color-coordinate if we get dresses early.”

  
“Exactly,” Jess echoed, catching up and snaking her arm through Emily’s. “We don’t need dates to have fun at prom and we definitely don’t need dates to look cute.”

  
Beth laughed and skipped ahead, winding her own arm around Emily’s on the other side. “And we _definitely_ don’t need dates to go shopping.”

  
Jess, Emily, and Beth pushed a few steps ahead, launching into gossip about Jenna Janzen, the try-hard student council VP. Sam rolled her eyes affectionately and fell into step beside Ashley. Sam didn’t see much of Ashley outside of a group setting, but she was easy to like, especially since Chris worshipped the ground she walked on.

  
“What about you, Sam?” She asked politely. “Do you have anyone you want to ask you?” She paused and scrunched her brows. “Or, anyone you want to ask, I guess.”

  
Sam thought of Josh. “Nope. You?”

  
Ashley blushed. Cute. “Uh, no, not really. I just figured I would go stag with the group. Matt and I were talking about going as friends, but think he might end up asking-” she jerked her head at Jess. “Someone.”

  
“Ah,” Sam said slowly, nodding. It was kinda obvious for a while, that Matt was nursing a crush on “probably-the-most-popular-girl-in-school,-the-gorgeous-cheerleading-captain-Jessica-Riley,” but Sam never thought he’d be ballsy enough to ask. She didn’t need to tell Ashley that, though, and they’d probably end up going anyway. Matt and Ashley were such cute friends to Sam. Well, yikes, that wasn’t as condescending as it sounded. It was just that Matt was this supposed “big dumb jock” and Ashley was this quiet bookish girl. It was cool that they got along so well.

  
Just to humor her, though, Sam asked, “You think he’s really gonna ask her?”

  
As Sam predicted, Ashley shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter to me, I guess. I’ll be hanging out with them all night anyway. It’ll be fun.” It sounded to Sam like Ashley was trying to convince herself, but she let it go.

  
They approached Bonnie Girl, the premiere location for prom dresses in the city. Every gown inside was one of a kind, so every girl had a guarantee no one else would show up in the same outfit, which of course would be a nightmare. Sam’s only goal was to find something with a pricetag that wouldn’t make her gag and a neckline that will make boys leave her alone. Naturally, Emily wanted something glamorous, Jess was after more of a princess look, and Beth was after something unique and eye-grabbing to enhance the air of mystery she spent four years carefully constructing. Ashley and Hannah had goals much closer to Sam’s, though Ashley was looking for something in turquoise, her signature shade.

  
While she wanted to respect her friend’s wishes, Sam hoped Hannah wouldn’t get something with the goal of hiding herself. No potato sacks for Hannah Washington, Sam decided. Not this year. She deserved to feel beautiful.

  
After the initial few minutes of gaping in awe at the racks overflowing with bedazzled gowns, Emily laid down the ground rules.

  
“Alright ladies, plan of attack: we each pick one dress that we like, and then we pick one for each other. Got it?”

  
Jess nodded excitedly, clapping and jumping up and down. “I’m so excited.” She turned to Hannah pointedly. “Don’t get me something ugly.”

  
Sam watched her hips sway as she sauntered away. Ashley’s mouth dropped open in shock, but Beth and Emily seemed unaffected.

  
Ashley crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, turning to Sam. “Ugh. Ignore her.” She turned to watch the other girls walk away. “Jess is such a bitch sometimes.”

  
Hannah just nodded. Her expression was neutral, but Sam knew she was hurt. It pissed Sam off that Beth didn’t stick up for Hannah in situations like that, but then again, Sam had stayed silent too. She took Hannah’s elbow in her hand and made her friend look at her.

  
“Seriously, don’t listen to her. She’s going to look obnoxious anyway.”

  
Ashley’s face lit up with an idea and she laughed. “Guys, let’s find her the ugliest dresses we can find.”

  
Sam smiled. “Petty. I love it.”

  
And the hunt was on. It was easy finding looks for everyone else, but again, their preferences were way more in line with what was trendy at the moment than Sam’s. Worst case scenario, she could find something decent and just throw a sweater over it or something. She grabbed a deep red, knee length dress and called it good, heading towards the fitting rooms to meet with the rest of the girls.

  
Predictably, Emily took the longest, though her time was closely matched by Hannah, who was understandably reluctant to participate in this little activity at all. The girls exchanged gowns, and Sam had to stifle laughter as Jess received dress after hideous dress. Jess scowled, narrowing her eyes at Sam, but said nothing, stalking haughtily into a dressing room and swinging the door shut with a slam. Beth giggled and looked at Hannah, who smiled lightly in return. It wasn’t enough for Sam, but if Hannah felt better then that’s all that really mattered.

  
Once they got started it turned out to be a lot of fun. Emily ended up finding her dream dress in the form of a sleek, contemporary blue gown with deep slits up the sides to show off her legs (chosen by herself, of course). Ashley’s favorite was a dark blue drop waist gown, vintage and perfect for her, picked by Jess. Sam was fine with her own choice of the short red dress she’d chosen right away, and Hannah chose a long, toga-like white dress for Beth that made her look like a total goddess. Jessica was in a monstrosity that made her look like a sparkly pink cupcake at first, but she ended up going the bedazzled lowcut purple bodycon Beth picked out.

  
It was only Hannah who was still trapped in her dressing room. It was a battle every time to get her to come out, and everyone’s dress but Sam’s just “didn’t feel right”, which was fine. Hannah tried to pick something huge and unflattering, Jess and Emily’s choices were too revealing and too fashionable, and Beth and Ashley chose more for themselves than for Hannah. Sam’s pick, a black, floor-length halter top dress was perfect: it would cover her chest while showing off her tennis shoulders and her tattoo. But she’d been in the room for like ten minutes and even when Sam put her ear to the door, she couldn’t hear any movement.

  
Emily was clearly getting impatient. The rest of the girls were already back in their clothes, waiting on Hannah to finish so they could all check out and go out for sushi as planned. Beth stood and leaned into Sam.

  
“Dude, everyone’s starving. Can you get her to come out?” she whispered, raising her eyebrows apologetically. Sam sighed, once again disappointed in her friend’s behavior. If anyone should do it, it should be Beth!

  
“Okay, I’ll try,” Sam responded coolly, turning away from Beth and knocking lightly on the dressing room door. “Han? You okay in there?”

  
No response. Sam tried again.

  
“It’s getting late and we still want to go out to dinner so. Will you come out?”

  
Silence. Sam sighed.

  
“Will you at least let me in?”

  
After a beat, the lock clicked and the door creaked open. She slipped inside, glancing at Ashley in distress before she disappeared into the small room.

  
Inside, Hannah was in the dress Sam chose for her, slumped over on the bench far away from the mirror. She’d clearly been crying. Sam sat down lightly next to her and waited for Hannah to talk.

  
It worked, and Hannah sighed. “I feel stupid, Sam. I feel ugly.”

  
Sam sat up and stared at Hannah incredulously. “What? How? You are gorgeous, Hannah.”

  
Hannah shrugged. “I don’t know. Because of Jess and Emily and…” she trailed off, not even needing to say his name for Sam to know she was about to talk about the infamous Michael Munroe.

  
Sam shook her head. “Don’t even think about them, they’re being total jerks. Here, come on,” she said, standing up and holding her hands out. “Let’s take a look.”

  
Hannah took her hands reluctantly and let Sam pull her to her feet, joining her in front of the mirror to stare at herself. Sam took her by the shoulders.

  
“ _Look_ at yourself. You look amazing.”

  
Hannah hung her head. “I don’t know…”

  
“Han, seriously. I know I’m your best friend but I swear I wouldn’t lie to you about this. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead.” She paused, laying her head on Hannah’s shoulder. “You should buy it,” she said gently, giving her friend’s shoulders a light shake.

  
Hannah sighed and managed a weak smile. “Yeah. I probably won’t find anything better anyway.”

  
Sam shook her head again. “That’s not the point. Look at yourself: do you feel pretty in this?” Hannah paused, so Sam clarifiied. “I don’t mean in general in this moment, I mean objectively, do you feel pretty?”

  
Hannah thought for a second, then nodded.

  
“Okay,” Sam said firmly, standing back and planting her hands on her hips. “Then you should come out and show the rest of the girls, and then you should march up to the cash register and buy it.”

  
Hannah turned and grabbed Sam, pulling her in for a tight hug. She really did look so beautiful in the dress.

  
The minute Hannah stepped out of the room, the other girls gasped.

  
“Oh my god,” Ashley said quickly, the fatigue from hunger forgotten in excitement. “That’s the one.”

  
“You look so pretty, Han,” Beth said, standing up. “Well come on, do a spin!”

  
A big grin spread across Hannah’s face as she lifted her arms and spun. The mermaid cut of the dress lifted the bottom from the floor, and the shiny material made Hannah look like oilslick. Jess and Emily clapped and hollered.

  
“OMG,” Jess gasped. “You and Beth are black and white! Ugh, that is so cute, I’m _dead_.”

  
“We’re going to look good together, big sis,” Beth agreed, swinging her arm around Hannah’s neck playfully. Hannah smiled and wrapped her arms around her sister’s waist, pulling her closer into a hug.

 

* * *

 

   
Despite the two hundred dollar ding in her summer savings, Sam felt pretty damn good, and she was impressed with herself for managing to finish their excursion on a high note. They got their sushi (just plain cucumber rolls for Sam, thank you) and went their separate ways. Sam sat in the backseat of Beth’s car and leaned her head against the window.

  
“Sam, we taking you home or do you want to sleep over?” Beth asked, eyeing Sam in the rearview. Sam thought about it for a second. It was a Saturday, and she’d have plenty of time to do the reading if she got up early tomorrow, which was the plan anyway.

  
“I’ll stay over,” she said, grinning. “But only if we go all out and stay in the sunroom.”

  
The sunroom was by far Sam’s favorite room in the Washington McMansion. First of all, the exterior walls weren’t walls at all, but breathtaking, massive windows. It felt like you could see every star at night, and during the day it was an amazing place to read and relax. The girls spent many days and evenings doing homework and gossiping in that room, but the best was when they made blanket forts and watched DVDs on Beth’s laptop.

  
“Oh _no_ , I _hate_ the sunroom,” Hannah said sarcastically, flinging her arms over her face dramatically. The twins laughed and discussed which blankets would be best for the fort for the rest of the drive home while Sam looked out the window again, watching the sunset change the sky.

  
Her thoughts wandered back to Josh, wondering if he’d join them for their slumber party. It wasn’t like he hadn’t done so in the past; he and Chris always “snuck in” to “bother” them with Ticket to Ride or Settlers of Catan or another board game, always a welcomed interruption for Sam. Sometimes, Chris would bring alcohol his brother bought for him and they’d play drinking games. Beth always wanted to play Strip Poker, mostly because she loved to make Chris squirm with her semi-nudity as well as his own. Josh was partial to Never-Have-I-Ever, mostly because, in his words, he was “a fucking slut” and never lost. Typically, Sam would sip on water or juice instead of liquor, partly so Hannah wasn’t the only sober one but also because she hated feeling so out of control.

  
Would tonight be another drinking night? Chris was still at school, so he couldn’t be their hookup tonight, but Sam knew Josh kept a stash hidden in one of the top cabinets of his kitchenette in the basement. It was technically his booze, so Sam felt bad about drinking it, but she kinda needed it after today. Everything worked out fine with shopping, but it took a lot of emotional heavy lifting to get there. Sam deserved a damn drink, and maybe she wanted an excuse to see Josh, too.

  
Was that a good idea? Mixing alcohol and Josh when she was so confused about her feelings for him right now? Well. Probably not. Was Sam going to do it anyway? Maybe, depending on how Hannah and Beth felt about it. Beth was always down to turn up, but Hannah was more subdued and careful about her drinking. She’d only been drunk once and cried the whole time, so she was never wild about the idea, especially if she knew Sam would be drinking.

  
Whatever. If they drank, they drank. Sam would be disappointed if they didn’t, but she’d be even more disappointed if Josh didn’t want to hang out. This weird distance felt necessary but it also kinda sucked.

  
When they got into the house, Hannah grabbed their garment bags. “Here, I’ll take you guys’ dresses upstairs, you guys get fort supplies and snacks and stuff.”

  
“Cool, thanks Han,” Beth said, handing her dress off gratefully and dropping her heavy purse by the door. Sam thanked Hannah too and followed Beth to the downstairs linen closet.

  
When Beth handed Sam one of the sheets, she had a twinkle in her eye.

  
Sam lifted a brow. “What?”

  
“Nothing,” Beth shrugged, feigning innocence. “Just wondering if you wanted to drink tonight.” Her smile was as wicked as the Devil himself.

  
Sam tried to play it cool, but couldn’t help the smirk tugging at her lips. “I was thinkin’ about it.”

  
“Thought you might be,” Beth said, dragging another sheet from the stop shelf. “Or maybe…” she dragged the word out. “You were just thinking about Josh?”

  
Sam’s heart leapt into her throat, but she swallowed it quickly, scoffing. “What are you talking about?”

  
Beth rolled her eyes and crossed in front of Sam, closing the closet door behind her with her foot. She headed for the sun room without looking back. “You know what I’m talking about Sam.”

  
“I really don’t,” Sam said through a sigh, trying to mask the panic fluttering in her chest.

  
Beth lifted her foot and turned the handle of one of the french doors leading to the room and half groaned, half laughed, which kinda pissed Sam off.

  
“Look, Sam. I’ve been letting you get away with it all these years because… shit, I don’t know. It was cute, like Chris and Ash are cute, you know?” Sam could only watch as Beth circled the room, moving chairs and piling sheets with infuriating nonchalance. “But now? Now I’m ready. Maybe it’s because it’s prom season and everyone’s freaking out, or because we’re graduating soon, or maybe it’s just time, but I’m ready to see something happen between you two. For real this time, not like at Kelly Dobermeier’s party when you guys got dared to kiss.”

  
Sam laughed an exaggerated laugh to hide her discomfort, like it was all a big joke. “Wow, thanks for reminding me of that totally not embarrassing moment.”

  
Beth threw her hands up. “Sam! Are you even listening? You’re in love with him and you always have been, just say it!”

  
“In love with who?” Hannah asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway with three two-liters under her arms and a big bowl of salt and vinegar chips in her hands. Beth’s mouth snapped shut with an audible click and Sam laughed another fake laugh, this time twinged with mania.

  
“No one! It’s fine,” she said, waving her hands. It was obvious that Sam’s growing desperation was being interpreted as a confirmation to Beth, which only made Sam more desperate.

  
Hannah set the goodies in the middle of the pillow pile, smiling. “No, really. Any man in your life is news to me, Sam.”

  
Sam stared at Beth, hard. Beth wiggled her eyebrows. “Bethany,” she warned.

  
“We were talking about…” Beth rolled onto the ground and crawled towards Sam slowly. “About…” she dragged out again, then suddenly grabbed Sam by the ankles. “Ben Stiller!”

  
Hannah gaped at Sam for a moment before bursting out laughing. “Are you kidding me? Ben Stiller is your Gross Crush?”

  
Sam waffled and shook Beth’s laughing form free of her ankles. “Gross Crushes” were a beloved topic between the girls. They’d spent hours in the past discussing which men in Hollywood were deemed “gross-hot” and added them to their list. Ben Stiller wasn’t on Sam’s, but she welcomed the out Beth offered her. “Uh, well, you know… Night at the Museum?”

  
“Ben Stiller, huh?” Josh said from the doorway, shaking his head. What was it with the Washington kids and being sneaky little fuckers? Josh rolled into the room like a cat, mock-disappointment coloring his features, hooking his arm around Sam’s neck and pulling her head to his cheek. “I knew you’d leave me for him one day. It’s the ears, isn’t it?”

  
“Get off me,” Sam laughed, shoving him away. Their eyes met and Sam’s smile deepened. She couldn’t help herself.

  
Josh shrugged and grabbed a handful of chips. “Whatever. I’ll send my lawyer with the divorce papers in the morning.” He shoved the chips in his mouth and clapped Sam’s cheeks between his greasy hands. “Just remember that I loved you,” he gurgled, shooting chip crumbs into her face.

  
“Ugh, gross!” she shouted, slapping his hands away and wiping her face. “You are disgusting.”

  
“Yes he is!” Beth cried, appearing behind Josh to cram a handful of chips down the back of his shirt.

  
Josh yelped and spun around to grab Beth, but he was too slow. Hannah and Sam laughed while he chased Beth around the room, finally scooping Beth off the ground, holding her in the air and tickling her. This is what Sam loved about the Washington siblings; their love for each other was so obvious. There was no sense of sibling rivalry, no hostility among the kids like there were in other households. Sam didn’t know from personal experience, being an only child and all, but she’d been to Jessica’s house enough times to see her and her younger brother Bryson screaming at each other constantly.

  
“Oh my god, can we not start a chip fight all over the blankets?” Hannah said through a laugh, following Josh and Beth around picking up chips that had fallen out of Josh’s shirt. “We’re going to be sleeping on these later.”

  
Josh put Beth down and let her swing a few weak punches, both of them breathing hard from laughing. “Can I help you guys set up?” he breathed, putting his hands on his hips. “I could bring the projector up if you want so you guys can watch movies on a big screen.”

  
“ _Yes_ , oh my god, thank you,” Beth groaned with a smile, gathering up the blankets to start building the walls of the fort.

  
Sam started moving chairs. “Josh, you should hang out with us.” She ignored the look tried to shoot her, focusing instead on Josh’s smile. He came to join her in arranging the chairs for the fort.

  
“Okay. You guys want help choosing a movie?”

  
Hannah shrugged. “Depends on what we’re all in the mood for.”

  
“Well,” Beth said while she tossed one end of the blanket to Josh. “You guys know I’m always down for a psychological thriller, but I’m open to whatever.”

  
“Anyone else feeling a romcom?” Josh said, hands open. “Because I’m down for a romcom.”

  
“Um, yes,” Hannah responded immediately, twisting open the two-liter of Sprite. “I am so down.”

  
“Romcom it is,” Sam replied. Josh smiled at her.

  
So they constructed their fort and hung a sheet off of an (ugly) art piece on the wall as a screen for the projector. Josh set everything up, and they agreed upon one of the best modern romcoms made in the past ten years: Crazy Stupid Love, a favorite of Beth and Hannah’s (since Steve Carrell was a Gross Crush of both of theirs). They all squeezed into the fort, Josh remarking that this was a lot easier in middle school, and set up the drinks and snacks. They spent most of the movie talking and goofing off. Like always, Hannah fell asleep in the middle, arm slung across Sam and mumbling to herself in her sleep. The rest of them finished the movie with the volume low and agreed that it was bed time. Beth got up to go brush her teeth, leaving Josh and Sam alone.

  
Josh started to get up, but Sam grabbed his shirt.

  
“Stay,” she said quietly. He met her eyes and something crossed the air between them, sending a shiver down Sam’s spine.

  
“Okay,” he whispered in response, settling down in his spot next to her. He reached above his head and shut the projector off from the ground. The only light in the room was the blue fairy lights they strung across the ceiling of the fort. Josh never looked so beautiful to Sam before. “Are you tired?” he asked, shifting to get comfortable on the pile of pillows.

  
Sam shook her head. “Not really. You?”

  
Josh shook his head in return. “The twins seem pretty beat, though, so we’d better go to bed too.”

  
“Yeah,” Sam breathed.

  
They lapsed into a tense silence before Josh whispered again.

  
“Do you want to snuggle?”

  
For some reason, the question made her sad, so sad she could have cried. She nodded and scooted away from Hannah and into Josh’s outstretched arms, curling into him and tucking her head beneath his chin. Josh responded by tangling his legs with hers. He was so warm.

  
Beth opened the door quietly and Sam fought the urge to jerk out of Josh’s arms. It was at that moment that she realized she didn’t care what Beth thought about her feelings for Josh. They were what they were, and Sam didn’t give a shit what Beth had to say about it. All that mattered was that she felt safe in Josh’s arms, and she wanted to make him feel safe in hers. So Beth snuck back into the pillow fort and settled down on Josh’s other side, facing the other way as if she were trying to give them privacy.

  
The four of them fell asleep like that, just like they had as kids. Sam’s English homework evaporated in her mind, and all that mattered in that moment was that they were all still together. Her heart was full of love.


End file.
